I'm grateful to Nate Brown for inviting me to reflect on Baltimore for the American Short Fiction blog. This piece is part of their "Things American" feature. Other Baltimore writers who have contributed include: Jane Delury, Michael Downs, Derick Ebert, Kenneth Morrison, Lia Purpura, Deborah Rudacille, D. Watkins, and Khaliah Williams.

For my part, I decided to interview my mother, Patricia Petrosino, a former teacher/administrator in Baltimore City Public Schools. Scroll down for her wonderful / terrifying description of Baltimore's meat wholesale district in the 1970s!